Dracula by, Bram Stoker was one enjoyable, wild ride that (tag) buddy read. Johnathan Harker goes to Transylvania to assist Count Dracula with purchasing a home in London. However, Harper quickly discerns that something is very “off” with the Count. Told through a series of journal/diary entries, telegrams, letters, and newspaper excerpts, Stoker pieces together the truth of who and what Count Dracula is and a slew of colorful protagonists band together to kill the Count.
What Rebekah and I found really interesting and surprising about Dracula are the religious overtones (not undertones because it’s pretty blatant) that are throughout out the novel. When we were discussing this book over two incredibly delicious pizzas (pizza is out favorite food on the planet…) we got into a conversation about how when people tend to encounter the unknown, they begin to rely on the spiritual realm for solace.
this quote is from a passage in which Harker has been provided with a crucifix, which provided comfort when things started to get pretty shady, pretty early on in the plot. Throughout the novel, many of the characters seek out passages of Scripture and prayer to strengthen their resolve as events gets darker and scarier.
Characters like Van Helsing and Doctor Seward are scientific men and an interesting conversation can be had here about what what happens when science fails to explain what has no logical or scientific explanation.
“Now that you’re wiling to understand, you have taken the first step to understand.”
“…for this enlightenment age when men believe not even what they see, what doubting of wise men would be his greatest strength.”
As society becomes more logical and scientifically centered, there are still phenomena that occur that can’t be explained. What happens when scientists don’t have the answers? Or rather, is there a balance and marriage that needs to happen between the scientific and spiritual worlds? Sometimes, in order to seek truth, one has to push oneself outside of one’s comfort zone and explore schools of thought that would have otherwise been ignored. Even though that have been deemed within a field for being considered “wise” should be questioned when what is coming out of their mouth doesn’t line up with lived experience.
If you read my review of Mythos by, Stephen Fry, I mentioned the book of Enoch that is in some Bibles, but overall it’s been excluded from the Biblical canon. Interestingly enough, Enoch is mentioned in Dracula. I love it when recent reads relate to each other. The book of Enoch talks about human-demon hybrids that roamed the earth due to fallen angels getting it on with humans. In the Bible they are referred to as the Nephilim. In Greek the term is Nephele. In a way, this is exactly what Dracula is - the vampire is some type of human/demon hybrid. Again, we see the characters referring to spiritual texts to understand this other worldly creature in their midst.
Lastly, many view Dracula as a commentary on Victorian sexuality. This is a society in which order/structure/decorum and propriety reign supreme. In Dracula we are presented with characters, especially a few female characters that are sensual; carnality has taken over as rebellion against a society in which one, especially women in particular expressing sexual desires.
Overall, Rebekah and I found Dracula to be an extremely enjoyable read - it’s beautifully written, engaging, atmospheric and just has the right amount of creepy. There are also some passages in this novel were really funny! We did find it to be repetitive at times, as many of the same events are recounted multiple times, just from different characters perspectives, and in that way, bits of the narrative could have been condensed. This is just “good fun” and where as Frankenstein is a novel that is a lot more philosophical, Dracula is has more going for it when it comes to pure entertainment. The vampire craze still has it’s hold on opt culture and we say do yourself a favor - go to the original Twilight and enjoy ride!
Rating: 4/5
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